Digital Commons Network^™

The Generative Turn: Ai And The Future Of Libraries, Deborah Lee

Mississippi Libraries

The Generative Turn introduces Mississippi librarians to the growing influence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and what it means for the future of library work. Rather than focusing on fear or hype, the column invites librarians to explore how tools such as ChatGPT or DALL-E can support creativity and professional learning. It explains how these systems differ from earlier forms of AI and how they can be used in everyday library tasks. The article highlights the librarian’s role in helping communities use these technologies responsibly while continuing to emphasize digital literacy. The column provides recommendations for books, online resources, conferences, …

Slis Notes: Building Advocacy, Stacy Creel, Sarah Mangrum

Mississippi Libraries

In 2016, the Pew Research Center found that 66 percent of adults believe that the public library has a positive role in their communities and believe in the educational role of libraries. Beyond education, respondents felt that libraries had a role in supporting businesses, technology, and other services, and were important parts of the community (Pew, 2016). Libraries continue to be “among the most trusted public institutions in our democratic society. Nevertheless, public libraries are struggling to regulate the library space as a space for all in democratic societies with increasing polarization” (Yamagishi, Koizumi, & Larsen, 2024, p. 1359). As …

President's Page, Matt Gully

Mississippi Libraries

Updates from the President of the Mississippi Library Association.

Front Matter

Mississippi Libraries

Front matter for Mississippi Libraries Vol. 87, Nos. 3 and 4.

Curriculum Materials Cataloged For Browsing, Michelle Emanuel

Library Publications

When the University of Mississippi Libraries acquired a collection of state-adopted school textbooks for K-12 from its School of Education, a decision was made to catalog the collection for browsing to anticipate the needs of its primary users, both “in service” and “pre-service” teachers. The textbooks would be grouped according to their grade level, and cuttered by subject area, instead of being classed according to its subject area. As the collection would be integrated into the regular circulating collection, and not into a curriculum materials center, issues arose for both technical services and access services throughout the process, from cataloging …

Integrating Zotero With Your Writing: From Research To Publication – Hslic Workshop Feb 2026, Evelyn Wang

HSLIC Faculty and Staff Instructional Resources

This HSLIC workshop presentation provides a practical, step‑by‑step guide to integrating Zotero into the research and writing workflow. Topics include installing and configuring Zotero and the Zotero Connector, collecting references from databases and web pages, organizing items with collections, subcollections, tags, and PDF attachments, inserting citations and generating bibliographies in Microsoft Word and Google Docs, managing and annotating PDFs, handling title case versus sentence case, detecting and merging duplicate records, and using advanced features such as Zotero sync, group libraries, collaboration tools, custom citation styles, and ZoteroBib.

Lanthorn, Vol. 60, No. 11, February 9, 2026, Grand Valley State University

Volume 60, August 4, 2025 – April 20, 2026

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Empowering Research Topic Development With Generative Ai Prompts - A Pilot Study For First-Year Writing Students, Yanling Liu, Yan He

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

As generative AI tools like ChatGPT become increasingly embedded in academic and everyday contexts, educators have a timely opportunity to leverage these technologies to support foundational research skills. In general education writing courses, students participate in library sessions with librarians to support their research projects. A central challenge is formulating a focused and relevant research topic, as many struggle to identify and develop ideas and refine them into viable research topics that are suitable for college-level writing and align with assignment requirements. This study explores how generative AI tools - specifically ChatGPT - can be integrated into library instruction to …

The Generative Ai Game Is Afoot: A Workshop Series, Denise A. Wetzel, Elliott Rose

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how we create, learn, and solve problems, making it essential for students to engage with these tools both skillfully and ethically. This presentation introduces “The Generative AI Game is Afoot,” a themed workshop series designed to explore generative AI through the lens of detective work inspired by Sherlock Holmes. Using the metaphor of digital sleuths and their trusted partners, the series invites participants to unravel the mysteries of generative AI with curiosity, critical thinking, and practical know-how.

The series consists of four interactive workshops followed by an open forum. The first workshop, "Writing Effective …

Best Practices In Virginia School Libraries, Audrey P. Church, Karla B. Collins, Carl A. Harvey Ii, Sheree Garrett

Learning Hub

The National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries (AASL, 2018b) indicate that school librarians should function as teachers, instructional partners, information specialists, leaders, and program administrators, and numerous studies document the important role that the school librarian plays in the teaching and learning taking place in the school (Lance & Kachel, 2018). Strong school librarians positively impact student learning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify, explore, and describe traits and activities of award-winning school librarians in Virginia. Data collected from 18 participants through semi- structured interviews identified the common traits of leader, communicator, …

Practicing Archival Sustainability Through Degrowth, Hannah Pryor

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

As archives continue to face threats from global climate disasters and increased institutional pressure to accomplish more with fewer resources, there is a need to evolve archival practice through a sustainability lens. While archival literature has frequently discussed sustainability practices such as eco-friendly building standards, how to reduce energy consumption, and other green initiatives, less focus has been placed on the underlying structures of unsustainability. This article proposes degrowth as one framework for considering archival sustainability. Degrowth is an ecological, economic, and political theory that advocates for the deliberate reduction of activities that rely on non-renewable resources. This article draws …

The Information Edge - Library Newsletter - February 2026, Sarah Burns-Feyl, Jennifer Rosenstein

University Library Newsletter

No abstract provided.

[Bhm] Black History Month 2026 - Library Resources, Raquel Estrada, Emily Gomez

Library Display Posters

Collection of posters created celebrating Black History Month 2026. It highlights films, books, and archival materials that celebrate Black arts, storytelling, leadership, and local history. The posters also showcase streaming films with public performance rights, literature, biographies of influential figures, and archival profiles of African American educators from the Rio Grande Valley/

Georgia Library Spotlight Sir Elton John’S Gift To Emory University’S Library, Lily Brickmeier

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Himmelfarb Headlines - February/March 2026, The George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Himmelfarb Headlines (2009 - present)

News, information, and resources relating to Himmelfarb Library that is of interest to patrons.

Olac Metadata Application Profile And Policy Statements For The Official Rda Toolkit, Sarah Hovde, John Dickson, Robert Freeborn, Peggy Griesinger, Jeannette Ho, Junghae Lee, Nicole Lewis, Treshani Perera, Madeleine Boyer, Liza Campbell, Sherab Chen, Jessica Hayden, David Norris, Diana Simpson

OLAC Publications and Training Materials

This document introduces a metadata application profile (MAP) and a set of policy statements (PS) for use with the Official RDA Toolkit, based on the OLAC Best Practices for Cataloging DVD-Video and Blu-ray Discs, Objects, Streaming Media, and Video Games Using the Original RDA Toolkit and MARC 21 (2023; hereafter OLAC Best Practices or Best Practices). These resources were developed by the OLAC Unified Best Practices in Official RDA Task Force (2022-2026).

Both the MAP and the PS are meant to be living documents, and it is expected that they will be regularly improved and updated to reflect the needs …

Building The Blueprint: Seven Years Of Laying The Foundation For Leadership And Community Impact, Karen Manning, Tamika Barnes, Angiah L. Davis, Priscilla Dickerson, Thomas Jackson Jr., Deon King Sr., La Loria Konata, Sarah Rodgers

Georgia Library Quarterly

This article presents a foundational blueprint for establishing and sustaining the Georgia Library Association (GLA) Black Caucus Interest Group. Drawing on seven years of documented activity, it highlights the group’s most notable programs, advocacy efforts, and community‑building initiatives that have shaped its identity and impact within the broader library profession. The article traces key events that strengthened the caucus’s mission, including professional development offerings, strategic partnerships, and leadership engagement across the state. A timeline of the caucus’s chair history illustrates the evolution of its governance and the contributions of successive leaders who guided its growth. Together, these elements offer a …

Exploring Slow Librarianship As An Intervention To Support Library Workers With Adhd, Valerie Linsinbigler, Liana Bayne-Lin

Faculty Scholarship

While scholarly conversations about supporting library patrons who are neurodivergent have grown in the past years, conversations about library workers who are neurodivergent lag behind. As it becomes easier to encourage students to destigmatize their neurodivergence, share their experiences, and seek formal and informal accommodations in university spaces, when, and how, will it become easier for neurodivergent library workers to do the same?

Perhaps slow librarianship is one answer to this question. Following in the footsteps of Jocelyn Swick-Jemison (2023), this chapter is part autoethnography, in which two early-career librarians will share their perspective of learning how to be liaison …

From The President, Tamika Barnes

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

From The Editor, John Mack Freeman

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Task Intensive Virtual Circulation Management To Meet Rising Patron Demand: Analyzing Ebook And Eaudiobook Acquisition Workflows In Fulton County Libraries, Elizabeth F. Keathley, Stephanie Galipeau

Georgia Library Quarterly

Managing eBook hold times while adhering to budget constraints is a critical challenge for public libraries. In a budgetary landscape where models of licensing and cost are in constant flux, this article offers a snapshot in time of strategies employed by the Fulton County Library System (FCLS) in Atlanta, Georgia, during Spring and Summer 2024. Librarians deployed a multi-pronged approach of daily carts in OverDrive, daily monitoring and response to patron holds and recommendations, daily updates of OverDrive records and bi-weekly updates of Hoopla records to meet patron demand. Documenting strategies like these is crucial for collection management professionals adapting …

Put Your Best Chat Forward: Analyzing Chat Reference For Best Practices, Kytt Everdeen Moore, Tera A. Ray, Emily Rogers

Georgia Library Quarterly

Chat transcript analysis studies are a proven method of evaluating levels of instruction and patron satisfaction. For more than 20 years, Odum Library at Valdosta State University has offered chat service but had never conducted an assessment. In summer 2024, three reference librarians at VSU reviewed literature and developed a means of evaluating 520 chat transcripts from spring semester 2024. Using a codebook implemented through a Qualtrics form, the researchers analyzed transcripts to examine the ways library reference staff responded to chat questions and to develop a list of best practices. The analysis showed that while most transactions had high …

Book Review: Wyche Fowler: A Political Life In Georgia, Congress, And Abroad, Amy Shaw

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Serials Spoken Here, Michelle E. Colquitt, Megan Horn, Jessica Berkana, Joni L. Addis, Michelle Sharla Navarro, Rachel E. Scott, Nancy A. Henke, Amy Kendrick, David Fiora, Uyen Nguyen, Kayla Kipps

Publications

No abstract provided.

Himmelfarb Liaison Letter - February 2026, The George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letters

No abstract provided.

Reflective Practice For Slow Librarianship, Este Pope

Dartmouth Library Staff Publications

This book chapter explores reflection as a concrete practice of slow librarianship. The author discusses how developing a regular reflective practice as an academic librarian and technologist creates opportunities to be a more mindful, collaborative, and adaptive leader and team member. The chapter provides background on the reflective practice approach, discusses the connections to slow librarianship, and provides examples and recommendations for incorporating reflective practice in the library workplace. Resources and further readings are also provided.

Where To Publish Your Research, Joanne Romano

TMC Library Newsletter (2015-)

The TMC Library offers a Where to Publish Your Research LibGuide designed to help researchers identify appropriate journals for submitting their manuscripts. Choosing a journal early in the writing process can save significant time and effort and increase the likelihood of a successful submission.

Georgia Library Spotlight: Let’S Move In Libraries Initiative At The Fayette County Public Library, Katie Rees

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Son Finds Long-Lost Photo Of His Father Beside Amelia Earhart, Thanks To Gsu Library’S Special Collections, Roy Cummings

Georgia Library Quarterly

While exploring the Digital Library of Georgia, Daniel Brown discovered a long-lost photograph of his father standing beside Amelia Earhart at Atlanta’s Candler Field in 1934. The image confirmed a story his father told for decades but never had proof of. The rediscovery highlights how digitized archival collections preserve history while unexpectedly reconnecting families with their own past.

Motivating And Retaining Student Assistants: A Case Study, Catherine Paolillo, Christopher Marcum

Copley Library: Faculty Scholarship

This paper offers specific recommendations for effectively motivating and retaining student employees at an academic library that practitioners may consider as they develop and implement programs for hiring, training, and retaining student assistants at their institutions. It describes a methodology that can be replicated for similar studies at other universities. This paper contributes new knowledge to the subject of academic library employee retention by reporting on the opinions of library student assistants at a small private liberal arts university in Southern California to gain insight into the kinds of retention program elements that students recommend. This study used an online …